Vietnam wishes to lift up ties with US

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has told US Secretary of Commerce Penny
Pritzker that Vietnam hopes to work with the US to elevate
bilateral cooperation in all fields, especially economics, trade and
investment, in a practical and effective way.

During their meeting in Hanoi on June 2, PM Dung expressed his
pleasure at the growing bilateral ties, noting that US is now one of
Vietnam’s leading partners.

Holding that the
cooperation potential between the two countries is substantial, he said
the two sides should optimise their advantages and opportunities for
economic affiliation to lift up two-way trade to a more impressive
figure in the future.

Mentioning the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) negotiation process, PM Dung asserted that once
successful, the deal will benefit all participating parties.

Vietnam has taken part in the TPP negotiations in an active and
responsible manner, he said. However, as a developing country, Vietnam
hopes that the US will notice the country’s difficulties and give
it necessary flexibility during the negotiations, contributing to the
success of the process, PM Dung said.

Affirming that
Vietnam will create all possible conditions for US investors, the
cabinet leader called on US businesses to support Vietnam in the TPP
negotiations, while persuading the US government to recognise Vietnam’s
market economy, which he described as favourable condition for both
sides to further their trade and investment ties.

On
the occasion, PM Dung thanked the US for their voice against China’s illegal act of placing a deep-sea drilling rig in Vietnam ’s
exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. He said he hopes the US
will continue expressing their objection to China ’s defiance of
international law.

For her part, Pritzker said the US attaches much importance to developing ties with Vietnam in all fields.

She said her visit, for which she is accompanied by many leading US
enterprises, aims to further boost bilateral economic, trade and
investment between the two countries.

She highly
valued Vietnam’s efforts in improving its investment environment and
consolidating investors’ confidence, as well as implementing its
commitments from when it entered the WTO, while creating favourable
conditions for foreign enterprises, including those from the US, to
operate in Vietnam.

Emphasising that there is room
for both sides to beef up their partnership, especially in aviation,
construction and energy, Pritzker said she hopes Vietnam will continue
backing US firms to operate in Vietnam .

She
also stated that her country will work closely with TPP-involved
countries, including Vietnam , to conclude negotiations at an early
date, thus paving the way for their affiliation.

US
investors present at the function said they will support Vietnam
in TPP negotiations and expressed wishes that the US Government will
soon acknowledge the country’s market economy.

Last year, two-way trade hit 30 billion USD, 50 times higher than 20 years ago when they nomalised their relations.

The US exported more than 5 billion USD worth of goods to Vietnam in
2013, up 8 percent over the previous year, while importing 24.6 billion
USD worth of goods from the country, a rise of 21.6 compared to 2012.-VNA